This invention relates to remote navigation of medical devices, and in particular to improved control over the remote navigation of medical devices using real time location data.
In remote medical navigation procedures, the distal end of an elongate medical device is introduced into the subject's body (typically the vessels of the subjects circulatory system), and the distal end of the device is oriented and advanced through the body to a desired location. An example of remote navigation system for conducting remote medical navigation procedures is the Niobe® magnetic navigation system available from Stereotaxis, Inc., St. Louis, Mo. This system allows the user to orient the distal end of a compatible device in a selected direction through the application of a magnetic field from one or more external source magnets, and selectively advance the medical device in the selected direction. These magnetic navigation systems allow for fast and easy navigation of a device through a subject's body. Other types of remote navigation systems could employ mechanical systems, electrostrictive systems, hydraulic systems, and pneumatic systems for remotely orienting the distal end of a medical device.
Remote navigation systems are frequently used in conjunction with a localization system that can determine the position and the orientation of the medical device. These localization systems include magnetic localization systems and electropotential localization systems. The localization can be provided in real time, or it can be gated, for example in coordination with the respiratory or cardiac cycle. This localization information can be used in an iterative feedback algorithm for reaching an arbitrary target, or in an algorithm for making small moves along a desired user-defined path.